


Songs Unsung

by PupyKills



Category: Naruto
Genre: ANBU - Freeform, Child Neglect, F/M, I should not have written this, I'm making this up as we go, Obsession, Read at Own Risk, Self-Hatred, Self-Sacrifice, Strong Female Characters, That's what you get for growing up in a ninja world, Tragic Romance, Weird Love, anything could happen, everyone's messed up, mental issues, what did you expect?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-18
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-02-21 16:30:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2474906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PupyKills/pseuds/PupyKills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On second thought, this was a bad idea. He didn't need her. She couldn't help him. There was no good reason to why she should stay with him. But she stayed anyway, even when it destroyed her. Because, in the end, she loved him. And nothing else mattered except for that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the manga; only the storyline, original characters and my strange imagination. Neither do I make any money off of this.

All was normal. The forest was quiet and at times the sound of a predator catching its prey would sound out to break the nightly silence. Only the keen eye would notice a slim shadow moving quickly through the trees. They were gaining on her, she thought. There was no doubt that her pursuers would soon be upon her. She kept on running forward, as she went thorough her options.

 

She was outnumbered, five to one. There was no way at all that she could win. Perhaps if she was a hero, then she could have… but she was no hero. Just a shadow, nothing more. Even without the difference in numbers, she was wounded and almost out of chakra. If only she could have reached the safe house, then she could have gotten help. But the safe house was still quite a while away and by the looks of it they were going to catch up to her in the next five minutes, at most.

 

Cursing softly under her breath, Father would be appalled at such blatant show of emotions; she speed up using the last remains of her strength. The five chakra signals behind her lagged for one moment, but soon enough began to gain one her once again. Three minutes.

 

She tried to think of what people normally thought of at death. Which was a good thought, to be honest. What did people think of at death? Their loved ones, regrets, hopes, wishes? She didn’t have much material to go off of, other than books. And those were never that reliable. She would have liked to ask someone but unfortunately anyone she could have asked was quite unreachable at the moment. Maybe she could ask someone when she died? Surely someone in hell would have to have the answer. There were plenty of people to ask from. Two minutes.

 

Her breathes came more rapidly now, sounds dulled by the presence of her mask. Her wounds were finally beginning to get to her. While not fatal, they were still big enough to risk her dying of blood loss, if not impeded. And it appears that the weapon that she was struck with was poisoned. Typical Suna.

 

The people behind her would be very disappointed indeed, to catch her only to have her die because of some minor wounds. Someone was surely looking forward to executing her himself. Or maybe not, it was hard to tell with ninjas. They were probably just satisfied with getting the mission completed. One minute.

 

Stumbling off the branch (she wondered how many times her Father must have turned in his grave by now? Good thing that it was difficult for even him to come from the dead, otherwise he would have come back just to kill her himself), She fell to the ground with a quiet thud. Dragging herself to a tree, she pushed her back against it, having no more strength to fight back or even get up. It wasn’t much that she wanted to face death in the face, but more of the ingrained ninja habits that made her do this.

 

(‘Never show your back to the enemy ,’ she remembered her Father say.)

 

She chuckled under her breath. Even at death’s door, her Father would still not leave her alone. He was always there throughout her life. Her curse, her blessing, her nightmare and only solace. Her family. How strange that a thing so good could turn out to be so wicked. They were upon her.

 

Out of the shadows of the night, five figures slithered out. They truly did live up to the title of a ninja. The most elite of the elite. Quiet, dark, like five shadows ready to bring down the judgment of the village. Had she looked like that, she wondered. A long, long time ago…

 

‘Tori Yamiko, you are to be executed on the orders of the Kazekage, for treason against the village.’ The figure in the center (the captain, her mind whispered, just like you were, before you…) stated monotonously.

 

Ah, that did sound like her, she thought. All cold and unfeeling, truly the example of the perfect ninja. It was a tad bit strange, to be true, to be on the receiving part of this speech. So far she had only been the one giving it. Her eyes started to blur, and she could feel burning in her lungs. Although she was usually more resistant than this to poison, her wounds and exhaustion let the poison progress a lot faster than it would normally.

 

The sound of a sword being drawn brought her attention back to her situation. Damn, she really ought to stop drifting off. Otherwise she might miss her death. And from what she hears, those can only happen once so it must truly be quite an occurance. She vaguely hoped that the person executing her would be experienced. Sometimes when a rookie did it, they would mess up and would cause the victim to bleed out a slow and painful death. Not that the ninjas pursuing her would care, but she would rather not experience anymore pain.

 

Closing her eyes, she thought back to the beginning as she let herself drift away to the darkness with no more strength to resist. The very start of everything…

 

‘Gaara…’


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, neither do I make any money off this.

She had been born on a tranquil night. A rare thing to happen in the desert, where sandstorms and other calamities reigned constantly. It was almost as if nature itself held its breath in anticipation of the chaos that would break out after her birth. Truly, the ocean can only be calm in the face of a storm, and a quiet desert is surely a sign of disaster to come.

 

She had been born at the start of the year to Tori Emiko and Tori Jyuuhiro. Her birth was not an wasy one, she was told once by her Father. Her mother screamed and pained for many hours before she was born. The burden of birth turned out to be too much for her mother, and she passed away before she even got the chance to name her firstborn.

 

Her Father always likes to say that since she was born bathed in her mother’s blood, that she was a natural killer. Killing was in her blood, and that this meant that she would become one of the greatest ninja of this century. It was for this reason that he named her Yamiko, ‘child of darkness’. She had to be a ninja, there was no other option.

 

( _Her Father was sitting at the table, a bottle of something sharp smelling in his hand. This was one of the few moments that he would allow himself to relax at home. Yamiko was hiding behind a corner, too scared to come out but still remembering one of the rules: ‘You must greet your superior.’ She was hoping that she wouldn’t get noticed. She was out of luck._

_‘Come out, Yamiko. You know you aren’t allowed to hide.’_

_She did. Now she would get punished for breaking one of the rules. She hesitantly comes out from her hiding spot, knowing that if she lingered than her punishment would be prolonged. And it was already going to be bad enough, seeing as he was not fully in control of yourself._

_‘You killed her. She gave you life and you ripped her into two as gratitude. Do you even feel any remorse? Of course you don’t.’_

_He was correct, she didn’t feel remorse. She felt fear. He got up, and started walking in direction of the training room._

_‘Come. It is time for you to see what happens when you don’t listen to your superiors.’ He said not bothering to turn around._

_She followed a moment later, steeling herself for what was about to happen._

_She stopped hiding after that._ )

When she was still a child, her Father hired ninjas to take care of her until she was old enough to begin her training. He made sure that the ninjas never stayed for long so that she wouldn’t grow attached to any of them, When she was nearing one, she started walking, so he decided that it was time to start. He trained her in everything a ninja a ninja needs to know.

 

( _She was practicing her letters together whilst doing calligraphy. Her Father was in front of her, face and body so still he might as well have been made of stone. Her hand was hurting from writing the same words over and over again, and her knees had long since gone numb from sitting in the same position. She shifted and winced as another stab of pain went though her legs._

_‘Ninjas do not show emotions,’ the cool voice of her Father could be heard. ‘You will be writing here until you manage to mask your pain.’_

_She kept on writing and writing. The pain increased with each passing hour. Tears gathered in her eyes but she kept on writing and writing. It was many more hours until her Father let her go with a disappointed look.)_

 

Her Father believed that the best lessons could only be learned through pain and effort. He never held back when he was sparring wih her, making her improve with a faster rate than most and causing her to go to sleep with most of her body covered in bruises.

 

( _A tiny girl with dark hair and matching eyes stood in the middle of a large training room. The room seemed even bigger compared to the tiny size of the girl. Her Father stood a bit away from her._

_‘Today, we will incorporate the moves you have learned into fighting an actual opponent. Attack me.’_

_‘Father, why should I do that? It is obvious that the difference in strength…’_

_As the words came out of her mouth, she realized her mistake. She shouldn’t have spoken. Her usually stony Father became even more rigid, and his anger, though not shown in his body, could still be seen in his eyes._

_Quicker than she could see, her Father moved across the space between them and kicked her in the stomach. She flew a couple feet away and landed on her back. Winded, she rolled into a ball trying to cover her stomach._

_Tears prickled at her eyes and threatened to make her cry but she knew that she couldn’t allow herself to do that. The rule was not to show any emotions. She couldn’t break the rules, or she would have to get punished._

_‘You. Will. Follow. The. Orders. Of. Your. Superiors,’ carefully enunciating every word, her Father said. ‘If I tell you to do something, then you will do it, no questions asked. Understood?’_

_‘Yes, Father.’_

_‘Good. Now get up, we aren’t finished here yet.’_

_That night she wasn’t able to sleep as pain could be felt in every single corner of her body.)_

 

It was that way that she grew up. She never went out into the village, or spoke with anyone other than her father. Whenever her father was home, he would train her until she bleed (and often beyond that). Whenever he would leave she would read and train even further.

 

( _Sometimes she would encounter in her books things she didn’t understand. So on her Father’s better days, she would ask him about them._

_‘Father, what does it mean when two persons are friends?’_

_‘It means that they have a bond between them; to help one another and keep the other safe. Do not think about such things. You are a ninja, and as such will not have such things. Put it out of your mind.’_

_She nodded. Her Father was right, as he was always. If he said that she won’t have such things then that means she will not. And yet, even when she thought that. a small treacherous part of her mind couldn’t help but long but such a thing as friendship._

_It was a pity she would never have it.)_

 

It continued on this way until she was five years old. It would have continued on this way much longer had a door not been opened in front of her.

 

Quite literally, as it may seem.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 3 in the morning, I got work tommorrow and really I should be sleeping but I'm up writing this. Sorry is the past/present writing thing is confusing anyone. I liked the way he story flowed so I kept it like that. The next chapter will be different. Maybe. I'll wait till I get to writing it. Please review! I have no strength left to try to convince you beyond that.
> 
> Till next time~
> 
> Silver


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and probably never will. And I make no money off this.

The house was always dark. All of the windows were small and curtained to make sure that the house remains cool in the face of the blistering desert sun. Most of the time this acted as an advantage for her, as the darker the house the easier it is to remain inconspicuous.

 

Her Father always said that the darkness will help her develop her sensor skills, and make her rely on senses other than sight so he never bothered with lightning the house up. He was right of course, her senses have developed quite well because of this and now she can detect her Father coming from a while away. It always helped her prepare.

 

So it was because of this that Yamiko was quite surprised to find a source of light coming from the front end of the house. Upon further inspection, she noticed that door leading to the ‘outside’ was not fully shut, allowing a crack to let the light in. She concluded that her Father, who had left that day for another mission, had neglected to check if the door was fully shut behind him ( _a mistake, her mind whispered, a ninja must always pay attention to the smallest details. a single mistake can cost you your life.)._

 

No matter how it happened, the door was open in front of her, something that had never happened to her before. Yamiko was struck with a sudden curiosity. Beyond the door was the outdoors, a place she had never been to before. She wondered how much hotter the sun would be there and what it was like to be amongst people. She wondered what things would be as she imagined them and what would be different.

 

But she couldn’t go outside, she knew. She hadn’t been allowed to, and she must follow the orders of her superiors. Then again, she wasn’t not allowed to go there either. If she went there and then quickly returned, then no one would know. No one had to know.

 

Fear coiled in her stomach. Her Father would be furious if he found out. Her punishments were always worse when he was furious. In those times, she hit out of anger, not to teach her a lesson. And anger always hurt.

 

She spent several moments standing there until her eyes were drawn to the light of ray shining through the crack. The light was warm on her face and seemed to be dancing, almost as if beckoning her to follow it.

 

‘Come,’ it said. ‘You won’t regret it, I promise.’

 

Slowly in shuffling muted manner she walked up to the door. She would only be gone for a moment, she said to herself. No one would notice her gone. No one would miss her.

 

A gust of wind blew against her face as she walked out. It felt both strange and wonderful, to be outside. The wind seemed to be whispering in her ears and the sunlight dancing on her skin. She walked further and further from the house until she ended up on a crowded street. People were walking back and forth busily, everyone doing their best to get where they wanted to as quickly as possible.

 

Yamiko stood there for a moment, baffled at the sight of so many people. She knew of course, theoretically that there were a lot of people in the village, but she only ever remembered seeing her Father so the amount of people was a new experience for her. It was unnerving and unpleasant, she decided. It was much better to keep to herself.

 

After a couple of people bumped into her, she quickly got herself together and started moving in a random direction. She was correct in her assumption, no one did notice her. The people around her paid little attention to the five year old walking around by herself, as a ninja village they were used to far stranger things. Although she did get a couple stares due to her looks.

 

In the desert, most people had brown and blond hair, with the occasional red thrown in. Which was why her black hair coupled with her grey eyes made her a subjest of speculation to some. But even so she was quickly forgotten as most of the people that day had more important things to do than wonder about the heritage of a random child.

 

Her wanderings eventually brought her to a playground. At least, to what she thought was a playground. It was more of a yard with a group of children in it. They were running around playing some game with a ball.

 

She stood there, at the entrance of the yard, for a moment wondering what she was going to do next. She could go up to the children playing and ask them to include her in their activities. But Father said that she would never have friends, so why would she do that.

_(Father was always right, her mind whispered. Always, always, always….)_

Then a splash of colour drew her attention from the group playing. It was the red hair of a boy standing to the side of the yard. His hair was a deep red, the colour of blood.

 

_(She should know that colour. She saw it quite frequently.)_

 

The boy was also standing still, staring sadly at the group playing. She wondered why he wasn’t in the group. Maybe he did something to alienate himself? Maybe the other kids just didn’t like him? Maybe he couldn’t have friends? ( _Just like her_ )

 

She didn’t know. But she could tell that he was lonely. It showed in his eyes, the deep tearing loneliness that made you wish that you had _someone_.

 

_(She saw those eyes everyday, looking back at her in the mirror. It was what made her happy to see her Father. No matter how much she feared him, but when he was there, she wasn’t alone.)_

 

She remembered waiting in the dark for her Father to return. Her Father always gave her pain and punishments, but that was still better than those quiet moments alone when the numbing feeling in her heart would grow and drown everything until there was nothing at all.

 

No one deserved to be alone. Which was why she walked up to the boy with the hair of blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I get my best writing out at night. Which sucks, cause I still have to get up in the morning. Anyways, as usual, please review!
> 
> Hope you liked this chapter~
> 
> Silver


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or make profit off this story.

‘What are you doing?’

 

The boy jumped up and whirled around, not noticing her approach. Not that she could blame him, as being undetected is one of the things she specializes in.

 

‘Are you… talking to me?’ The boy murmured in disbelief.

 

She cocked her head. He was the only one in the vicinity; there was no one else who she could have been talking to.

 

‘Yes, I am. Why aren’t you playing with the others?’ She clarified her question.

 

The said children had stopped their game to stare at them and whisper.

 

‘Everyone… is scared of me… so no one wants near me…’ The boy said lowering his eyes to the ground.

 

She found the action foolish. A ninja must never take their eyes off of an enemy. Not that she was one. But she could have been.

 

‘I see.’ She replied.

 

There are many reasons why people feared, but all of the reasons could be simplified to a single one. People feared hat could hurt them. Those children feared the boy because he could hurt them. She feared her Father because he hurt her. So, the most logical thing to do would be to walk away from the boy before he could cause her any pain.

 

But when she looked back at him she knew instantly that she wouldn’t be able to do that. He was looking at her with soulfully deep teal eyes, hope and fear so painfully intertwined that it became instantly clear to her that she would never be able to walk away from him. His eyes were too much a reflection of her own.

 

She looked away from him. Pain throbbed somewhere deep inside her chest. In the place where she used to dream of love and friendship, but that was burned away by her life. She wished to be able to put the boy’s fears to rest. She wished she could be his friend, that he would have someone to rely on when the world turned against him.

 

_(She wished she could be for him what no one was to her.)_

 

Her Father was always right. She will never have friends, she wasn’t even sure if she was capable of having friends, the way she was. But that doesn’t mean that she couldn’t be a friend. And at that moment, she really wanted to be the friend of this boy with painful eyes.

 

She looked back to him. He was looking back to the ground and appeared to be waiting for something.

 

‘Would you like to be my friend?’

 

Whatever he seemed to be waiting for, that was not it, judging by the confused expression that appeared on his face. Perhaps that wasn’t how you were supposed to proposition potential friends? She had read somewhere that being direct was best. Of course, the text then followed up by saying that if a direct confrontation didn’t work, then kidnapping the target and keeping them in your house until they agreed would be the correct following action.

 

Or maybe that was only a lover’s manual. She had no idea where that had come from but she read one of them before. She supposed that it didn’t really matter in the end.

 

‘Y-you would like to be my friend?’ The boy finally said.

 

‘Yes.’ She replied. Maybe the kidnapping idea had its merits after all. She probably would get her intentions across faster that way.

 

‘Or do you not want to be friends?’

 

‘No! I mean, yes! I do want to be friends.’ The boy said fumbling the words out.

 

Good, she thought. now the only question was what one did with a friend now that they obtained one.

 

‘My name is Yamiko. It is a pleasure to meet you,’ she introduced herself.

 

‘I’m Gaara, it is nice to meet you as well,’ the boy, Gaara, said with a hesitant smile.

 

It was a small smile, but a nice one full of happiness and just a tad bit of wariness. It was nothing like the smiles she made whenever she had to express happiness. No matter what she did, her smiles felt crooked while he smile directed at her felt almost warm. Like the sun, it was unusual and strange on her skin.

 

‘Gaara-san, I’m afraid that I have to leave now, but I will return here tomorrow so we could spend more time together then.’

 

She really did have to return. It wouldn’t be good if her Father returned to find her gone. No, it wouldn’t be good at all.

 

Gaara’s face fell slightly.

‘Would you promise it then? That you would return?’

 

No, she couldn’t. He would have to be a fool to trust a promise. And she would have to be an even bigger fool to give it.

 

‘I promise, I will return.’

 

And with that she left and returned back to the house. She found her way easily enough, helped by the fact that she had memorized the path she took. tepping back into her house. she felt like she was stepping back into a cage, one that was cold and dark. Chains wrapped around her heart, and for a second she was sure that she would run out the door and never return. But she remembered her Father, and she remembered the rules.

 

Tensely, she went further into the house to await the arrival of her Father. She was going to somehow sneak out of the house tomorrow. Thankfully, her Father was never around much during the day, but she still knew that she had to be careful if she wasn’t to be caught.

 

She wondered for a second why she was risking so much for a promise. She didn’t have to return. Promises were always broken. Yet at the same time, she couldn’t forget the boy’s heartwarming smile and his deep eyes.

 

Just one more time, she told herself. She would sneak out just one more time.

 

She kept telling that to herself as she fell asleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you to everyone who followed this story, this chapter is dedicated to you! Sorry about any typos, a sleep addled mind should not write. Yet here I am, writing. The next chapter might not be out as soon.
> 
> See you later~
> 
> Silver

**Author's Note:**

> To those who have read the original version of this story 'Shadows the Tale of the Legendary Suna Ninja', thank you. I have personally reread it, and my notes, some time ago and I have decided to rewrite it. All of it, because the story was horrible and the ending was lame. I blame it on youth. So I am throwing everything away and leaving only the basic skeleton behind. If anyone finds this newer (and hopefully better) story interesting, please review! And if you don't, still review! I've got to improve somehow. Anyways, til the next chapter (no promises on when that will be) bye~


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